


that can't be good for your back

by spuddypotat



Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Anxiety, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fainting, Gen, Minor whump, angelo is a good friend, damien is an anxious mess, i still dont know how to tag, its just a bunch of fluffy nonsense after angelo shows up, kind of, mention of illness, minor hypochondria, takes place before they become knights, this ended up being about 800 words longer than i thought it would be, this is incredibly self-indulgent and i apologize for that
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:20:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,840
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26034829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spuddypotat/pseuds/spuddypotat
Summary: in which damien is more under the weather than he initially thought, takes an accidental nap in the middle of the shooting range, and angelo is a good friend/rival
Relationships: Sir Angelo & Sir Damien (Penumbra Podcast)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 28





	that can't be good for your back

**Author's Note:**

> minor hints at a possible crush because i follow the headcanon that while damien and angelo were knights in training they had feelings for each other but neither of them saw it as anything more than a friendship because they're dumb.
> 
> recently I've been obsessed with their dynamic in general and wanted to explore it a bit in this purely self-indulgent fic!
> 
> enjoy!

“Leaving so soon Damien?” Angelo asked as Damien stood from the dinner table.

“I'm afraid so. I must get my rest if I want to do my best in training tomorrow, Angelo!” he replied, though that wasn't entirely the reason he felt the need to get to bed soon. Truthfully, he was rather exhausted from today's training regime and felt the beginnings of a headache pressing behind his eyes. 

He heard a few groans of protest from his friends at the table, ready for a night full of drinks and socializing. “Fear not, I will surely join you for drinks tomorrow!” he reassured with a somewhat forced smile, making his way for the door. 

He climbed the stairs to the dormitories and walked the dark corridors in silence, perhaps a bit relieved to get some time to himself before he slept. He figured that if he woke up early enough the next morning, he would be able to slip in some extra training to improve his skills. 

He flopped down onto his bed, suddenly feeling the weight of the day pressing on him. Despite still being fully clothed, he felt sleep threatening to overtake him. 

He lay there for a moment, considering his plan to wake up early to get in some extra training before the sun rose, and concluded that he could stay in his current clothes and then change when the day began in earnest. So instead of fighting the sleep, he let it wash over him, cool and silent in the empty dormitory. 

A few hours later, he awoke with a start, bolting into a sitting position and breathing heavily, the traces of a nightmare already beginning to fade from his memory. Funny, he thought, the fact that such a vivid and terrifying dream as such could dissolve so quickly despite how real it may have felt in sleep. 

He sat for a moment, collecting his thoughts and asking his Saint for tranquility to stay silent so as not to wake anyone. 

A few moments later he finally had his breathing under control and he attempted to go back to sleep. He figured that another hour or so would still allow him plenty of time before sunrise. 

Sleep, however, did not come quickly as it had just a few hours prior. Instead, he was left lying there, staring up at the ceiling with a racing mind. The concept of his rivalry with Angelo suddenly pressed its way to the front of his consciousness and he froze. 

He felt a pang of dread as he recalled their last competition, one that Angelo had won, effectively breaking their previous tie for the time being. 

As much as he respected Angelo and encouraged him to succeed, the need to better himself as well and meet Angelo's greatness kept pushing him forward, never able to rest until they were tied again. 

Damien was met with the familiar intense urgency that seemed to only appear when he was about to sleep-the sudden desire to  _ do, _ to work towards that tie as soon as possible as if he only had hours before he lost his chance. The thought nagged at him as he lay in his bed, chest blooming with anxiety and anticipation. 

After some moments of racing thoughts, he determined that it would be futile to attempt sleep again, so he quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to the door, picking up his boots as he walked into the corridor. He decided that if he wasn't going to get back to sleep, now would be as good a time as ever to get in that extra practice before the day began. 

To be honest, he wasn't actually sure what time it was, but the position of the moon told him he had some time before the sun rose. He gathered a torch and his bow and quiver, making his way towards the shooting range. 

Damien glanced over the whole of the training field, taking note of the almost melancholic serenity it held when devoid of knights in training. He breathed deep the cool air of night, feeling a sliver of tranquility return to him as he took in the poetic sight before him. A chill ran down his spine, though whether from emotion or because he was actually cold (something he had been ignoring until now) he could not say. 

He placed the lit torch above one of the targets in the shooting range before walking to the other end, ready to finally be doing something with his hands to pull himself from his own mind. He drew an arrow and aimed towards the target, releasing it with a satisfying hiss. He repeated the process with the other five arrows, walking down the range to retrieve them. He continued to practice until the beginnings of twilight started to show on the horizon. 

Quiver filled once again, he drew an arrow back and released it. To his dismay, however, it landed far from the center of the target this time. 

He paused for a moment, taking a steadying breath before drawing and releasing another. This one was  _ somewhat _ closer to the center, but certainly further than his average. He exhaled a breath that came out all shaky and began muttering a prayer to himself as the thought that something was wrong pushed itself into his mind. 

_ Tranquility, your tranquility… _ He closed his eyes and inhaled as he drew back another arrow, steadying himself once again. When he opened them again he could actually  _ see _ the shaking in his own hands now. Without really thinking, he released it, watching it fly off somewhere in the dark. 

Truthfully, the notion of having shaky hands should not have worried Damien as much as it currently did, but acknowledging that didn't make it any less true that he  _ was  _ beginning to worry. An illness, it must have been- a terrible illness that threatened to bring him to the ground at any moment. It would explain his lack of sleep and the chill that constantly ran through him as he stood there on quaking legs, maybe even the headache that he had just begun to notice. 

He gasped a bit, suddenly paralyzed at the very thought. "N...n-no, you're okay Damien, just breathe," he muttered to himself, careful to exhale slowly this time. Even so, the incessant fluttering in his chest refused to let up. Dropping his bow beside him, he pressed a hand to his chest, closing his eyes and focusing only on righting his breathing. His limbs felt weak and shaky, and he fought to stay upright. 

To his dismay, however, he opened his eyes only to see black pinpricks beginning to cloud his vision. Before he could do anything to stop it, he felt his knees buckle beneath him as he collapsed to the ground, vision now completely dark.

\---

"Napping on the field? How unprofessional, Damien!"

Damien opened his eyes slightly, squinting up in the soft light of early morning. Angelo was standing over him, a look of joking and something like confusion on his face. 

"Wh… what…? how did I..." Damien trailed off, trying to remember what had just happened and why he was lying flat on the ground, shivering from the cool air around him. 

"Saints, man. I'm usually groggy after a nap but never enough to forget how I got there. I must say, Damien, the ground of the shooting range is definitely a strange choice of napping spot." 

Damien lifted himself to a sitting position with one arm, only to be overcome with dizziness and immediately he fell back to the ground with a pitiful groan. He was now painfully aware of the throbbing headache that pressed behind his eyes, jumbling his thoughts and making his vision swim. Through it, though, he saw Angelo's face just as something seemed to click and his expression shifted to one more akin to concern. 

"Ah… perhaps I have misunderstood what has happened," he said as he knelt down beside Damien. He slid an arm behind Damien's shoulders, offering his other hand as support while he slowly shifted his friend to a sitting position. 

"You look pale, my friend. What's the last thing you remember?" Angelo asked, his voice now incredibly gentle, in stark contrast to his usual jovial tone. 

Damien paused for a moment, searching his short-term memory for an answer. "Mh… I was… I came here to get in some early morning practice but I think… After a while I was having trouble keeping my aim straight… My- hands kept shaking…" He trailed off again, suddenly feeling a bit winded, voice ever-quavering with anxiety. He paused for a moment to get control over his breathing. 

"I see… have you eaten anything yet today?" Angelo asked, still in that gentle soothing tone. 

"N-no, I was going to wait to join everyone for breakfast…" 

"Perhaps you have underestimated the importance of a good breakfast, my friend," Angelo said, a bit of his usual tone creeping back into his words. 

Damien frowned at this. "But I've trained on an empty stomach before and I was just fine…” 

Suddenly he felt a hand pressed to his forehead, sturdy and gentle. He desperately fought the urge to lean into the warm touch, just barely succeeding as it drew back. 

“I see… You feel a bit warm, Damien. Are you ill?” 

Damien could practically  _ feel _ the color drain from his face, as well as see it in the way Angelo’s face reacted. “Ill… Saints above… this will be the death of me…” Damien muttered, feeling a bit faint again. 

"Woah woah woah, lets not get ahead of ourselves here, Damien! Perhaps you have simply caught a cold and you just need some rest," Angelo reassured. 

"Here, breathe with me now." Angelo inhaled deeply, waiting for Damien to follow. 

Damien drew in a deep, albeit shaky, breath, holding it for a few seconds before following along with Angelo when he exhaled. They sat there, breathing for a while, until Damien felt his heart rate slow to normal again. 

After a moment, Angelo stood up, offering his hand down towards Damien. 

“Lets get some breakfast, shall we?” he asked cheerfully. Damien smiled up at him, taking the hand and lifting himself to his feet. 

For a brief, scary moment, he swayed a bit, but with Angelo there to provide support, he remained standing. 

“Can you walk?” Angelo asked. 

“I'm not sure… Let’s see-” Damien began, taking a step. And then his knees gave out again and he fell against Angelo, his vision spinning slightly. “Nnghh… Apparently not…” he murmured. 

He felt himself being lifted, an arm hooking under his knees and the other snaking around his shoulders to cradle him. 

“Then I shall carry you, my friend!” 

Damien giggled a bit, despite still being somewhat lightheaded, at the notion of being carried bridal-style to the mess hall. 

“So you shall,” he said, throwing an arm around Angelo's neck and pulling himself closer, a smile tugging the corners of his mouth.

**Author's Note:**

> i would like to sincerely apologize for publishing this but I feel like there needed to be more damien whump on this site- specifically because its literally canon that he Does Not Rest and there's a lot of potential there!! cmon people!!!!
> 
> oh! i also did a drawing to go along with this fic which you can find here: https://www.deviantart.com/spuddypotat/art/aw-man-that-sucks-852674189


End file.
